Israel Adesanya isn’t concerned with Brad Tavares’ status.
Adesanya is scheduled to take on Tavares in the main event of “The Ultimate Fighter” 27 Finale. The card will take place inside Pearl Theatre in Las Vegas, Nevada on July 6. This will be part of “International Fight Week.”
“The Last Stylebender” is still preparing for a fight with Tavares despite injury concerns on his opponent’s end. Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) president Dana White claimed that Tavares was out of the fight with a broken foot. He said that Thiago Santos offered to step in as a replacement.
Tavares denied that he was pulled, saying it was a miscommunication. Reports have since claimed that Santos is on standby should Tavares be unable to compete. This doesn’t appear to bother Adesanya.
Speaking to MMAFighting.com, Adesanya talked about first receiving the news and what he was told:
“I have no idea what was going on there. Out of nowhere I got word from my Dad saying, ‘What happened to the fight? I heard your opponent broke his foot?’ I hadn’t heard anything about it and I still haven’t. I text Eugene and he told me to ignore it and that Mick Maynard had said it was nothing. Then my Dad sent me on a link, it was a video of Dana White talking about Tavares breaking his foot. Again, I was told to ignore it.”
Adesanya holds a perfect professional mixed martial arts record of 13-0. Adesanya went the distance for the first time in his MMA career when he earned a split nod over Marvin Vettori. “The Last Stylebender” is known for his kickboxing skills. He earned a kickboxing record of 26-5-2. Twenty-four of his victories came by way of knockout and he won the Glory 34 middleweight contender tournament championship.
Do you think Israel Adesanya can beat Brad Tavares or Thiago Santos?
